Year of the Hot Mom: Week 16 Update

Well, guys, this is the date (April 24th) that I wrote about back in January as the date I wanted to lose 18 pounds by.  There were 18 weeks until my trip to Florida, and my goal was to lose one pound per week, right in time for my little vacation. 

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Well right off the bat I should tell you that I added wrong.  THERE WERE ONLY 16 WEEKS.  There’s a reason I don’t pay the bills in this house!

Regardless of my stellar math skills, 18 pounds is still my ideal goal weight, but as of this morning I have lost (drum roll please…….)

9.4 pounds and over 19 1/4 inches!!!  That is almost 38 sticks of butter and well over a foot a foot and a half of fat!  lol

So, yes, I’m a only a little over half-way there.

Is it what I ideally wanted?  Well, no.  But am I happy to say that I’ve lost that much?  Well, what do you think? :)

Here’s what happened:

Weeks 1-10:   I focused on portion control, limiting sweets/treats, and working out 6 days a week.  I lost 5 pounds and a lot of inches.  I also plateaued for about five straight weeks.  Talk about depressing!  I tried everything short of full-on “dieting” and nothing – and I mean NOTHING – worked. 

Weeks 11-16: I started implementing the Weight Watchers Points Plus system and continued to exercise 5-6 nights a week (I added Pilates at this point to build more muscle and add toning).  So far on WWPP I’ve lost an average of 1 pound a week for an additional 4.4 pounds lost.  (This week I am a little behind on the pound-per-week thing but this week is also bad timing if you’re catching my drift…) I love that I can eat super clean on this plan – it’s really no “diet” at all.  I eat whatever I want; I just write it down and make sensible portion choices.  It has been a lifesaver for me!

One thing I know for sure after 16 weeks into this: I AM A CHANGED PERSON. 

I work out 5-6 days a week now (rotating between the elliptical and my Pilates toning dvds).  I eat clean as much as I can (something I was already doing), but I also really watch my portions.  I realize the food will still be there later if I’m really hungry.  I don’t eat until I feel uncomfortable anymore. 

I’ve learned to really analyze my food before I eat it.  I ask, “Is this going to be worth it to me later?”  I enjoy my food more.  I am more intentional.  I slow down. 

4 months ago, I despised exercising and would rather have scrubbed my toilet bowl for an hour than gotten on the elliptical.  I can’t say I love it now, but I can tell you that I honest-to-goodness crave exercise now and there is just this force within me that compels me to exercise every night (mostly because I’m too scared to stop in case my bad habits set in again).  I look at an exercise video online and don’t think “Ugh, that looks horrible.”  Instead I think “Oooh, I should totally try that! It looks fun.” 

FUN, people! Am I crazy?!  lol

I am going to Florida for 4 days this week (wheeee!!) and I’ve already figured out that I’m going to bring my Pilates dvds and my sneakers so I can do some exercise at my aunt’s house and hopefully take walks around the neighborhood, assuming I don’t die of heat stroke down there in the tropics.  Working out is part of my life now – vacation or not. 

I am in this to win it.  Clearly you can see by my sloooooow pace that this was not an overnight thing.  It has been HARD.  I thought for sure I would be at my goal weight by now.  There has been more than one melt-down on my part, sobbing to my husband about how it’s not fair that Gayle King can lose 9 pounds in 10 days on Jenny Craig and I need 15 weeks of hard work to lose that much and blah blah blah blah blah. 

But these changes I’m making are permanent.  Every day, in my head, I remind myself: “There is no going back.  You can only move forward.” 

A few tips I’ve learned that I want to share with you:

1.  If you’re in a plateau (they’re the worst!), don’t despair.  Try something new.  Try anything new.  Try everything new.  Don’t stop, and most importantly, don’t give up!  Repeat after me: The plateau will break. 

2.  Portion control, in my humble opinion, really is the key to weight loss success.  We’ve all heard it before: weight loss is as simple as your calories in must be less than your calories out.  I can’t recommend the Points Plus system enough.  It rocks.  (I don’t go to meetings and I’m not a member online.  I had a friend who gave me her points info, and I also use this awesome Weight Watchers calculator when I need to figure out the points of something not in the material.)

3.  Eat clean, healthy, nourishing foods.  Don’t sacrifice your body’s health for the sake of saving some calories on “sugar-free” or “low-fat” items.  It’s not worth it in the end. 

4.  Make time for exercise.  I had only lost about 3 or so pounds back in the winter but my husband was already noticing and commenting on how toned my upper thighs were getting in the back.  Motivation?  I think so. ;)

5.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to take your measurements!!  Knowing that the inches were dropping, even during my plateau stage, was what kept me going. 

6.  Tell someone about your weight loss plans!  Heck, tell everyone you know!  Then you’ll be too embarrassed to go back.  :)

7.  Tell yourself, like I do everyday, that this is it for you.  There is no return to the old lifestyle of bowls of ice cream on the couch every night (or was that just me?!  lol).  If I can do this, the girl who loves food and who was picked last for every gym-class sports team in elementary school, SO CAN YOU. :) 

Here’s to the final 8.6 pounds! :)

My hope is that those of you who shared in the beginning of the year about your weight loss goals have been able to make 2012 your year, too.  I’d love to hear how you’re doing!!